1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure of application Ser. No. 09/826,814, filed Apr. 6, 2001, is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates generally to a method and system for providing promotions to customers, and more specifically to a method and system for providing a promotion to a customer based on the status of a promotion previously delivered to the customer. As used herein, the term “promotion” refers to any promotion, advertisement, incentive, coupon, commercial, or communication for promoting one or more goods and/or services.
2. Discussion of the Background
It is well known that manufacturers and retailers expend a significant amount of resources distributing promotions in an attempt to entice consumers to purchase a particular product. Due to the variety of consumers in the marketplace today, it is inevitable that different consumers will be enticed in different ways by a promotion. For example, some consumers may be persuaded to purchase a product based on creative advertising for the product, while others are enticed solely by the dollar amount of a purchase incentive for the product. While currently known promotional strategies distribute targeted promotions to customers-based on the product purchase history of the customer, the present inventors have recognized that the effectiveness of such promotional programs is determined collectively based on the overall sales for a particular product or retail store without regard to the effectiveness of a particular promotion delivered to a particular customer. The present inventors have also determined that promotional programs of this type lead to distribution of promotions to customers who are not likely to be enticed by the promotion resulting in ineffective and wasted promotional efforts.
In addition, it is known that manufacturers and retailers distribute promotions for their products through a variety of distribution mediums such as the postal service, newspapers or magazines, printing from a point of sale terminal at a checkout counter in a grocery store, and, most recently, the Internet. The present inventors have recognized, however, that customers are primarily exposed to promotional efforts through a small number of mediums accessible and/or preferable to the individual customer, and that current promotional programs attempt to deliver promotions to individual customers without regard to the medium preferable to the customer. These promotional programs also lead to ineffective and wasted promotional efforts.